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People keep dying, of course, but the recession and its aftermath force families to find cheaper
ways to send loved ones into the hereafter. The death industry - tombstone carvers, coffin
salesmen, cemetery managers - suffers the scaled-back consequences.

"Before, if you had a $25,000 insurance policy on Uncle Bob, you would spend every dime to make
sure he had a good funeral and the biggest monument possible," said Doy Johnson, executive vice
president of the Elberton Granite Association. "In today's economy, when Uncle Bob passes away,
chances are you'll spend $750 on cremation and put the other $24,250 in the bank."

Johnson estimated that headstone and monument sales are off about 15percent since late 2007.
Meanwhile, a generational shift toward cremation gets a boost as cost-conscious Americans opt for
cheaper burials.

The industry is tackling the issue. Funeral homes offer on-site crematoriums and reception halls
for gatherings that have nothing to do with death. Cemetery owners transform burial grounds into
fairgrounds or concert venues.

More people are having funeral services but then opting for a cremation instead of a burial,
said Andy Ryan, vice president of Egan-Ryan Funeral Services. The Columbus-based company said the
downturn in the economy has also resulted in more people seeking a direct cremation instead of any
funeral services at all or choosing to hold a service off-site without the body.

"There's a lot of concern with the economy. People are worried about having the funds to take
care of the remaining elderly parent and are looking to cut costs on the funeral," he said. Lauren
McDonald III just opened a funeral home in Dahlonega, Ga., with gas fireplaces, iPad docking and a
chapel that transforms into a banquet hall.

"I can sit back all day with a casket and a vault, but it's what sets you apart that makes a
difference," McDonald said. "We want family and their friends to be comfortable. It's all great for
business."

No matter the religion, people have to dispose of bodies. Increasingly, they end up in urns.

In 2008, 36 percent of dead Americans were cremated. The Cremation Association of North America
predicts that by 2025, nearly 60 percent of Americans who die will be cremated.

Cremation, with a basic urn and some extras, costs $1,650 on average, the association says. A
traditional funeral runs $7,775, without cemetery, headstone or flowers, according to the National
Funeral Directors Association.

"Ten years ago, families came and bought a very expensive casket, a lot of commemorative extras,
guest registers, candles, flowers," said Alysia McDonald, executive director of the Georgia Funeral
Directors Association.

"Depending on the economy, people may select more extras or less. In that regard, it's just like
any other business in the country right now."

More cremations translate into fewer burials, coffins, vaults and graveside markers. Ten years
ago, casket- makers sold 1.9 million coffins. Last year, they sold 1.7 million.

Prepaid funerals, a big moneymaker for undertakers, also suffer. Five years ago, McDonald &
Son Funeral Home and Crematory in Cumming, Ga., took in perhaps $100,000 a month in pre-plan
contracts, in which families can pay upfront, before someone dies. Lauren McDonald said he averages
$60,000 to $70,000 a month these days.

Cemeteries, too, report fewer pre-sales.

In Rome, Ga., the city's four cemeteries typically sold between 200 and 250 pre-need plots a
year before the recession. Today, they average 150 pre-need and at-need sites annually.

The once-staid death industry has gotten more creative in filling its cemeteries and funeral
parlors. Rome, for the first time, hired a marketing firm for its mausoleum. Cemetery managers
around the country put on promotional concerts, firework displays, barbecues and other
entertainment. A Seattle cemetery hosted a pumpkin-harvest festival with hayrides.

The festivities "no doubt lessen a cemetery's stigma and remind people that the cemetery down
the street is part of the local community," said Lisa Marshall, a spokeswoman for Services
Corporation International, the biggest funeral and cemetery company in North America.